Liquid Silver Books, $5.95, ISBN 978-1-59578-523-7
Fantasy, 2009
Shifting Winds is the fourth story in our heroine Danny Lee’s sneaky plans to dethrone Anita Blake in a fell coup, so this is one story that you should not read if you are new to the series. Check out the review of the first story, Half-Wed Moon, for the background information of this series.
So, where we left off, Danny’s hot rear end is being lusted by her Alpha, Alex, and the Master Vampire, Savior, as well as Asmodai, the big bad of Hell, and… no, this one doesn’t have some VIPs from Up There joining the “We Want a Piece of That” party in case that is what you are wondering. Each of Danny’s groupies has his own term of endearment for her, which will come useful to avoid calling out the wrong guy’s name in a pivotal moment during bedroom games.
This time around, our self-proclaimed “beyond dominant” is tired. Cussing non-stop and trying hard to maintain a perpetual sneer on one’s face can do that to a lady, you know. This time around, the Grand Dame (not to be confused with the Mother of All Darkness, because this one is the Grand Dame of wolf kind) is dropping by for a visit and the wolves are freaking out, so poor Danny can only find succor in Savior’s “darting” tongue instead of taking a nice long vacation. What does the Grand Dame have in store for poor Danny?
I don’t know what happened, but I find that I actually like Danny this time around. She started out in the first book as a ridiculous character who is way over the top in her feisty antics that Danny becomes a caricature as a result, but in this story, it looks like Danny has finally mellowed. She is starting to listen and observe instead of charging headlong into various situations. The author is also allow Danny’s relationship with her men to go somewhere and likewise, the storyline is also going places. I find myself unexpectedly interested in see where the author will take Danny Lee from here because in this story, Danny is finally becoming interesting.
I have frequently called this series a Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series-wannabe. If the author keep things up, this one may instead become a pretty good alternative to that series.
